Estate planning is an act of love. It covers the process of developing a comprehensive plan to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your assets.
- 60-70% of Americans do not have an estate plan.
- Minor children will not have nominated guardians.
- Children inherit all at legal age.
- Probate is expensive – 5-7% of your gross probate assets ($50,000 – $70,000 for $1 million assets).
- Probate is time-consuming – 9 months to 2 years to settle estate.
- Probate is public.
- Probate invites conflict among family members.
- Unintentional disinheriting of children from 1st marriage.
- Inheritance to children may not be protected from creditors.
- State law determines distribution of your assets.
- Family is left without instructions at time of grief.
- Family will have to sort and organize.
- May have to pay federal estate taxes.
- Conservatorship (i.e., court process) necessary if incapacitated.
Don’t Wait Until It’s an Emergency!
- Protecting you and your family.
- Easing stress for your family at difficult transition times.
- Preserving your assets.
- Avoiding probate whenever possible.
- Reducing or avoiding estate taxes.
- Ensuring distribution of your property exactly as you wish rather than leaving distribution to be determined by state law.
- Enjoying peace of mind from knowing your assets are being used wisely to offer financial security for yourself and those you love.
- Allowing an agent to manage your finances if needed.
- Expressing your wishes about your medical treatment.
Estate planning – like a good insurance policy – is a wise investment, protecting your loved ones and assets and giving you peace of mind.
Your estate is everything you own. It includes your home and other real estate, bank accounts, investments, retirement benefits from your employer and/or IRAs, insurance policies, collectables, personal belongings, and ownership interest in a business. When you add it up – especially when you include death benefits from your insurance policies – you may find that your estate is far larger than you thought.
- The older you are, the more urgent it is to decide how to transfer your assets to your grown children or other loved ones.
- Families with young children need estate planning to provide for those children.
- Couples with children from previous marriages need estate planning to assure that their assets are distributed in accordance with their wishes and foster harmony among family members.
- Single adults – young and old – need to plan for themselves and those they love.
- Business owners, whether a sole proprietor, LLC, LLP, or Corporation, need to protect their business interests.
Good estate planning is important for everyone.
The best time to plan your estate is now, while you can – before it’s too late. Thinking about your own mortality or the possibility of becoming incapacitated can be upsetting. But the failure to plan for what is certain – and what is possible – leaves many families unprepared to deal with incapacity or death when they are emotionally fragile.
Planning ahead is an act of love. The time is now.
If you’re over 18, you need a will, advance health care directive and a power of attorney for finances. If you’re over 18, you are considered an adult and in charge of yourself. If someone else needs to take care of you because you become disabled, they will need to get a conservatorship, even if they are your parents. These documents do not need to be complicated. You can write a handwritten will (called a holographic will). There are also free statutory forms that you can use. Make sure that you protect yourselves at the minimum with these documents.
If you have assets over $150,000, it’s advisable to have a living trust in order to avoid probate.
In our office, a portfolio refers to the set of comprehensive documents that you need to cover all aspects of unexpected situations that may arise. A complete portfolio is much more than just the trust or will alone. Without other documents that support the trust, your estate planning is incomplete. A will portfolio includes a will, advance health care directive, a power attorney for finances, and a letter of wishes. A living trust portfolio includes a trust, a pourover will, advance health care directive, a power attorney for finances, a certificate of trust, a transfer deed of your house into the trust, and a letter of wishes. Our office makes sure that you have a complete and comprehensive portfolio of documents that provides full protection.